Brothers of Humanity
by Romez
Summary: A Forerunner experiment is found on a remote planet decades before the Covenant invasion. Will this allow humans to emerge victorious? Or are destinies set in stone?


**Alright, here's my new Halo/Bleach crossover! Enjoy! And… to all true halo fans, I am sorry if anything is out of place or it doesn't look Halo-ish. Even though I've played all games (except Reach) and read most of the books, I've never been attentive enough to actually look at the details. Hopefully, my writing can make up for it. Give it a chance and enjoy!**

**Oh, another warning. I actually incorporated some Starcraft 1 and 2 into the story, so it's somewhat a Halo/Bleach/Starcraft crossover. And yes, I did make certain ships a wee bit more powerful because I decided that they were Forerunner creations. Don't worry, you'll find out what I mean.**

**THIS IS JUST A PROLOGUE! SO TELL ME IF ANYTHING IS WRONG SO I CAN FIX IT!  
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**X X X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Currently the colony ships were en route to a previously explored, but unsettled region. Thus the reason for their existence, to colonize said region. Then engines thrummed, almost as if the ships were waiting in anticipation. This solar system was a goldmine in the vastness of space. There wasn't just one settable planet in the solar system. There were _five_ back to back. Not only that, but they seemed to have livable atmosphere, almost as if they'd been previously terraformed. If all went smoothly, these planets would be industrialized rapidly, bringing the number of fully functional planets to 87 and 50 colonies.

A flash of light signaled the emergence of the ships. They forced themselves out of their dimension through a rip in space and into 'real' space. In the distance the planets were in perfect alignment as if they had waited for someone to find them. The colony ships set their engines to maximum as each one went to their respective planets. Topography scans had showed relatively little wildlife, less that were potentially harmful to human life. But there was lot of vegetation, some that hadn't even been sampled yet. One particular ship descended through the atmosphere as its hull heated up. Being armored with four inches of titanium-A plating, the ship had little to worry about over the heat caused by the friction. It descended like a gliding rock before its thrusters kicked in and began to slow it down. It settled in a relative empty area where nothing could surprise them in the event that there was something remotely dangerous.

A man stepped out of the ship, double and triple checking for any signs of threat. The only discernable difference was this place had little more than 1 atmosphere of pressure at what was considered sea level. For some reason, despite it being relatively equal to earth in size, it's gravity was a bit heavier and no one could figure out why. But a little gravity never hurt anyone, so it was deemed acceptable.

The man looked up at the sun that was blazing in the distance. He had a strange feeling about this solar system. Regardless of what anyone said, it just wasn't possible for _five_ planets to have perfect livable atmosphere regardless of the distance. The other planets should've either been colder or hotter depending on their distance. Yet they weren't. He shook his head, it wasn't like anyone was going to listen to him. He turned his head as he waited for his team to finish moving the equipment. His guards were two marines carrying the standard MA5B Assault Rifle and Combat Armor. Though, when he looked at them closely they seemed to be bored, like they wished they hadn't been chosen for this assignment. He scoffed, if only they had the intelligence to appreciate the ability to colonize. He shook his head. Regardless, he had a mission to carry out as well.

Once he was a distance away, he began sampling the flora for any potential poisons, or if possible, potential cures and healing abilities. They had already found the cure for cancer a long time ago thanks to a certain stalk found a particularly radioactive planet. If it hadn't been for that, he was sure that humanity wouldn't have been able to survive space exploration with the cosmic rays that constantly bombarded them and its capacity to destroy DNA. He paused from his amusing thoughts as he looked at a rather strange plant. No, it wasn't a plant. Not exactly. Plants didn't move on their own. And plants were usually colorful depending on the colors they reflected and the type of light they used for photosynthesis. Now that he thought about it, it _couldn't_ have been a plant. It was black… and black wasn't a color, but all of the colors combined.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him from investigating. He shook his head at the marine. "C'mon. This is my _job_."

"And it's my job to protect you." He retorted. The scientist shook his head once more as he let the man do his _job_.

The marine peered at the hole the 'plant' had escaped in. He couldn't see anything because it was so dark. Little did he know it wasn't simply dark, but the actual 'creature' itself. He jabbed at the hole, a little curious himself and pieces of it fell away. Now the hole was five inches in diameter and he could clearly see the liquid-like substance underneath. He gritted his teeth in frustration when the scientist didn't stay back and just _had_ to take a look. He turned his attention black to the strange material and waited for something to happen. Nothing did. Yet, there was something about it that compelled him to try and figure out what it was. He felt an odd connection with this 'creature' if you could call it that. He brought his Assault Rifle and touched the creature with the tip. He was about to pull away when the creature sent what looked like a tendril around the barrel of the gun, as if curious itself.

He leaned in a little closer, curious as to what it was doing… before it shot out at him. He couldn't even scream as it invaded his mouth and disappeared into him. "Shit!" The other marine cursed as he brought his gun to bear.

"Wait a moment!' The scientist jumped in front of the gun, stopping the marine from firing.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? We could be in danger!" The marine shouted.

"Just wait a moment!" The scientist pleaded.

"Get out of the way before I shoot you as well."

The scientist stood firmly. With a grunt of annoyance the marine shoved the scientist to the side. He raised his gun and was about to fire when a hand stopped him… and it was his friend's hand. He looked up and felt a cold chill run down the spine. The sclera was tinted black like tiny flecks had been splattered over his eye. It was haunting, but that wasn't what shocked him at all.

"H-H**ey.**" The marine flinched at his friend's voice. It seemed… disjointed. Two voices fighting for control. He looked at the gun in his hand. All he had to do was pull the trigger and scrap the mission and that would end the situation.

A sharp pained entered from the back of his neck before his vision winked out. He fell to the floor like a rag doll, spread and unconscious. The scientist was huffing from the exertion of having lunged his metal case at the back of the marine's head. But his attention had already shifted away from the body on the floor onto the…

"What are you?" He asked.

The man blinked. "I think… **I'**m still i**n** con**tr**ol." He paused as if consulting someone. "He wants t**o ta**lk."

'_He?'_The scientist wondered with excitement. The man's eyes flickered before it seemed like a new person now occupied the body.

"**It's been a long time."** Delight ran through the man of science as he heard the creature speak. Whatever it was, it had to be symbiotic. If it were parasitic, there wouldn't have been a need to keep the former host alive, especially if it could seemingly take over the mind as well as the body.

"Long time?" He questioned as the figure flexed the fingers.

"**Yes."** The voice growled in a menacing tone. Yet the man knew intrinsically that this creature posed no threat. He vaguely wondered why as curiosity was getting the better of him.

"Care to explain?" He asked, barely containing the excitement in his voice. He could even feel his teeth chattering at the amazing encounter of having found a new form of sentient life.

"**I do not remember. It has been a long time."** The creature seemed perplexed as it seemingly tried reaching for a memory that no longer was accessible. **"Our previous host died out a long time ago."**

The scientist waited as it seemed like it wanted to say more. And it did. **"It's been a long time," **He said once more as he looked at the scientist, **"Brother of my kindred."**

**X**

A year passed as people began to colonize the planets. Months of analysis of this new lifeform yielded inconclusive results. While it was true that these creatures, or Hollows as they called themselves, had mass and could be seen, they didn't seem to hold any real physical form at the same time. They weren't in a solid, liquid, gaseous, or plasma-like state. It was as if they had reached a different state of existence that still held ties with this reality. All of the modern science couldn't explain their existence. The only other possibility was that they were created lifeforms and were purposefully made that way. It didn't seem like an accident that the Hollows, for whatever reason, felt amazingly comfortable in a human body. There had been animal testing, and while they could in fact synchronize with them, it wasn't as efficient and the Hollows would eventually break down and fall out of the body.

However, the decision to capture a Hollow for experimentation proved to be something that should never be done again. Not for the fact that it wasn't successful, but for the fact that the Hollows _were_ sentient and were against being captured and experimented. At first they had not heeded the captured Hollows resentment and continued experimentation until a ship, if it could be called that, appeared from out of nowhere over the planet where the experimentation was being held.

The ship was of biological origin, they could not detect any trace of metals or electronics. The maneuverability of said ship was astounding. There had been two ships stationed for shipping and for defense. Upon detecting the ship, they had hailed it and when they received no reply, they fired. The standard 600 ton round sailed across the distance and would reach its target in five seconds. However, they didn't expect the 'ship' to dodge. It's bulbous form seemed ungainly, but it proved extremely maneuverable. Its speed too was incredible as it lunged at the newly created Marathon-class ships even as they fired over four hundred missiles at the lone wanderer. Having 40 oversized pods that could carry 40 missiles per pod, the likely hood of them running out soon was nil. Yet, this information did nothing to stow the surprise when the biological ship seemingly seemed to 'spit out' a strange substance that spread across the vastness of space. The substance ate through the missiles and detonated them forcefully, causing a chain reaction. Half of the missiles remained though, but the creature fired again, but at this close range, it wasn't able to let the goo spread. Now around 50 missiles remained. They impacted against the ship, which seemed to recoil in anger. However, it was relatively unscathed and headed towards the UNSC ships before they even had a chance to recharge their MAC cannons. The organic ship, slightly smaller than the two ships it faced, seemingly glided through the vastness of space. Multiple fighters were launched as another volley of Archer missiles were included as well.

For a brief moment, the creature vibrated and out came these 'fighters' that looked like flying t-rexes. The 20 human fighters paused for the briefest of moments before going in to engage the targets. One of the longswords shot 4 missiles at one of the creatures. At first it looked like they would impact, but then the creature actually twisted itself into an 'S' shaped form and the missiles sailed _through_ it. The pilot's surprise was short-lived as it shot out something acidic that burned through his cockpit. It went _through_ his ship and collided with another wingman that had been unfortunate enough to be next to him. Soon, all the pilots found that these acidic glaives seemed to find secondary targets if for a brief moment. It didn't work over medium distances, but if the fighters were close enough, the glaive would bounce to the next one. However, this was all before they even knew the name of these creatures, called Mutalisks. The human fighters fell out of the sky, not daring to get close enough to each other to form formations, but they were also too far apart to effectively support each other. These Mutalisks were effective in the method of "Divide and Conquer."

One Longsword managed to actually pass the flock of Mutalisks only to be utterly decimated by a large tentacle that shrouded his vision. Death was swift and painless. Thankfully for the two Marathon-Class cruisers it seemed that this time more than half managed to impact the beast. It twisted and wreathed, but headed towards them. The bulb at the back of 'ship' went from a pulsing green to a mixture of green and bright yellow. Finally, the ship was upon the UNSC counterparts and it stretched its six tentacles, three going to each ship. The Marathon-Class ships suddenly found themselves with large gaping holes that vented atmosphere and crew members out in to space. To make matters worse, the Leviathin's—as it would later be called—actually expanded inside the ship and when it pulled out, it ripped out large chunks of armor from the ship. It was literally being skinned to its skeletal frame. The UNSC ships experienced power fluctuations and critical system failures ship-wide even as the point defense turrets struggled to keep the fighters at bay. However these two were pulled off from the ship as the Leviathin-Class ship targeted them specifically. The six feet of armor did nothing to protect them from the onslaught.

The UNSC ships rocked as they were pummeled as they received punch after punch. They tried veering away, and it worked as it limited the Leviathan to only fight one instead of both at once. However, this wasn't as solid as a plan as it seemed at the time. The Leviathan chased after one ship. It was faster than the Marathon Class ship and easily caught up to it, pummeling it to oblivion, not even needing its fighters or ship-to-ship weapons to damage the ship. Nothing could be done and eventually both ships lost and the Hollows were treated as equals to humans with regarding to rights. They forged a treaty with them, allowing humanity to colonize the planet in exchange for hosts. Word of the Hollows spread out and many feared that they would be conquered and taken over like the Xenomorphs from the classic movie "Aliens" that had played around the 20th Century. What came as a surprise was the Japanese. Even though there was no Japan and there was only Earth and its territories, there were still distinct cultures alive. Those of Japanese descent seemed to welcome the Symbiotes, as was their nickname, and were the main group of people to colonize the planets. They were the first to prove that indeed, the Hollows proved no threat but in fact greatly advanced human's evolution. Results weren't seen until second-generation born Symbiotic Humans yielded strange, yet wonderful results. They were stronger, faster, and to a certain degree smarter than most people. Another strange result was the befriending of one's own Symbiote. Directly after birth, humans and their Hollows grew at the same rate mentally, though physically was an entirely different matter as they didn't seem _physical_ even if they were _solid_. Later on, they actually became friends and instances of mental degeneration in any form seemed to have been eliminated. Hollows also bolstered up the immune system, making Symbiotic Humans relatively immune from most pathogens other than lethal ones. The Hollows even protected humans _emotionally_. The Hollow inside would take whatever personality it needed to better ensure survivability and focus. Sometimes the Hollow would take on a similar personality as its host… and other times it would take on radically opposite personalities to the point of being cruel and malevolent. Yet, none of those that went to the extreme ever went over the edge and the hosts actually seemed to prosper from the treatment. Perhaps it was because the host considered the Hollow a friend. Perhaps this treatment was what the host _needed_. Perhaps the creators of these Hollows found a way to achieve a mind of perfect balance. All of this needed more research.

And regarding the biological ships. They were actually nomadic and were frequently found eating the many asteroids out in space. How they used them for nutrition remained unknown for they too possessed intelligence and refused to be experimented upon. They even refused to let humans aboard unless they were melded with Hollows. How the Hollows and the ships were connected was simply another mystery. The Leviathan wasn't the only biological ship to be found. There was also Guardian, Manta, and Ripper class bio-ships. Regardless, the task of piloting them was a strange one. The Hollow inside a human would seep out like black ink and fuse to the wall and harden slightly. All energy of the human body was put to a standstill and diverted to the brain where scans showed an increase in brain activity by 400 percent, not including the Hollow's own thinking capacity. Effectively, the minds of the humans and the ships fused and were considered one instead of different people piloting a ship. No, there was no piloting, but shared thought and control though they retained their personalities. Even so, the melding of minds was simply referred to as 'Pilot' since individual people hard to distinguish.

Gradually, humanity as a whole began to accept them once they seemed to realize they posed no threat, but in fact improved humans. Thus began the spread of the Hollows. Where only 5 planets were colonized, now there were 9 fully 'melded' planets. Humans continued to seemingly evolve up until the third generation where natural improvement seemed to stop and could only be improved upon by practice. Thus, a complete human was regarded as anything above a generation 3. A generation 3 gained even more of a physical, mental, and even emotional improvement. They were the strongest humans, sometimes even considered the pinnacle of human evolution. However, unlike generation 1 or 2 melded humans, each human and their Hollow seemed to specialize into certain types depending on their personality. Those of the more aggressive stalk were indeed stronger and faster than even other generation 3 counterparts. Those of the intellectual kind became leading researches in less time than 'regular' humans, though this arbitrary reference angered many of the civilian populace. Advancements of technology had been stepped up, though due to the lack of many 'Hollowfied' worlds, it wasn't much of an increase. Significant and notable, but not much.

Because only Hollowfied people were the ones that could pilot the bio-ships, there were only 12 of these wonders in the service of the UNSC. It was now a race to Hollowfy the rest of humanity and get more of these bio-ships under their command, for they proved to be more than a match for ships of their size and even greater if flown with great skill.

Humanity continued to expand until the emergence of a new, but hostile alien race that demanded extinction of their species. Standing at 102 colonized planets, 13 melded planets, and 73 colonies with hundreds of potential planets in their space; humanity would soon fight for its right in the galaxy.


End file.
